Last week two Democrat members of Congress introduced legislation that would shutter the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and potentially relocate violent terrorists to American communities.  Earlier this year, Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee listed Fort Sill as a potential relocation point for terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.

The evidence shows that many of these terrorists are incredibly dangerous.  Recently the Pentagon released information stating that six former detainees at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba had returned to fight against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.  According to the Department of Defense, three of those released from the prison resurfaced as senior Islamist fighters in Afghanistan while a fourth was later identified as having been a Taliban deputy defense minister.  Many of these terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay have killed Americans, and transferring them to Fort Sill and other American communities will make them more likely targets for terrorism and ultimately make America less safe.

Over the last few years, the House Armed Services Committee has spent a great deal of time focusing on the Global War on Terror and this country's detainee policy.  In the last Congress, the committee passed the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) and the Military Commissions Act (MCA).  These acts ensured that the United States would be able to detain, interrogate and try terrorists, and do so in a way that is consistent with the Constitution and the international Laws of War.  A little over five years after the September 11th attacks we are finally beginning to see our enemies brought to justice.  These policies are working and it is up to Congress to continue to allow them to work and not take action that would have a chilling effect on the implementation of these policies.  Closing down Guantanamo Bay would do just that.

We keep terrorists at Guantanamo Bay because the facility provides the highest level of security to ensure our enemies do not endanger the lives of Americans.  We are at war, and under the international laws of war, the United States has the authority to detain persons who seek to attack America without charges or trials.  We are addressing a new type of enemy and a new type of war. Moving these detainees into Fort Sill Oklahoma will only endanger the lives of the citizens who live there. This is a terrible proposal and one against which I intend to fight extremely hard.

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